Trump to face hush-money sentencing days before inauguration: Live updates

The physician, better known as the TV celebrity Dr. Oz, made the comment during a 2013 address to the National Governor’s Association. He told attendees that uninsured people should be given “a way of crawling back out of the abyss of darkness, of fear, over not having the health they need” in a “festival-like setting” with physicians.

He added that the uninsured don’t have a right to health, only the right to access a chance at health.

Federal employees could be required to return to the office five days per week as a way to reduce its workforce under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration – but economists say that it could also cost the government productivity and money.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the billionaire entrepreneurs recently bestowed government advisory jobs, said they have several ideas to drastically cut the federal workforce and budget through their newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

One way they could inspire change is by suggesting Trump mandate the approximately 2.28 million employees return to the office five days per week – something they claim will “result in a wave of voluntary terminations.”

Lawyers for two women defamed by Rudy Giuliani have spent months trying to track down his assets to begin chipping away at the $148 million he owes them in damages.

On Friday, he testified for more than three hours in a federal courtroom in Manhattan as attorneys painstakingly poured over his sworn statements in thick stacks of court filings.

Squinting at a small monitor in front of him, the 80-year-old former New York City mayor repeatedly said he never intentionally withheld information about his assets, didn’t recall seeing certain statements, and never willfully disobeyed court orders to turn over his property.

But he admitted he did not want to give the mother-daughter election workers his grandfather’s 120-year-old gold pocketwatch.

“I felt it could get lost if I turned it over,” Giuliani said from the witness stand.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the incoming Senate majority leader, said Friday that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have “a really, really tough job,” navigating a narrow majority.

“I think he has been responsive to his members, but he’s got a lot of folks that are headed in different directions,” Thune said during an interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that took place as the House was selecting a new speaker. “I mean, as you know, that with a narrow margin like that, any individual member of the House of Representatives can have a huge impact.”

Payment is required before the footage is released, according to WEWS. Governments will be allowed to charge as much as $75 an hour or for a maximum total of $750 per request.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

The owner of the Los Angeles Times reportedly considered launching a conservative version of the daytime talk show The View and met with comedian and anti-vaccine advocate Rob Schneider and the wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., actor Cheryl Hines, to discuss it.

But Johnson’s speech afterward did not set the tone, nor did the speech of House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain.

Rather, it came when House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar nominated Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and called Democrats the “governing majority.”

President-elect Donald Trump has named Morgan Ortagus as his deputy Middle East envoy in a curiously worded announcement on Truth Social this afternoon.

It reads in part: “Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them.”

Here’s the statement in full:

I am pleased to announce Morgan Ortagus as Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace, to the Honorable Steven Witkoff. Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens. She will hopefully be an asset to Steve, a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon! Morgan Ortagus has had experience in Diplomacy and National Security, and is an active U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer. From 2019-2021, Morgan served as Spokesperson at the Department of State (Pompeo!), where she was a member of my Historic Abraham Accords team that brought unprecedented Peace to the Middle East. Earlier, she worked at the Department of the Treasury as a financial intelligence analyst and, from 2010-2011, was the Deputy U.S. Treasury Attaché to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“We have a mandate, and that was shown in the election cycle. People want an America First agenda,” said Johnson. “Sadly for the past four years of divided government, too many politicians in Washington have done the opposite; open borders and over-regulation have destroyed our cities and stifled innovation.”

He claimed that inflation and “weak leadership” have made Americans worse off and left the U.S. in a “perilous” place.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.